15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Rune

Silas and Marley are sitting in the living room when I rush inside. “Where is he?” I ask, impatiently.

“He’s in his room, he doesn’t want to be bothered.” Silas stands and walks toward me. Marley quickly stands and steps in front of him.

“How are you feeling?” She asks, linking her fingers together in front of her.

“My brother killed my fiance, then tried killing me.” I seethe. “What answer can I give you that will shut you the fuck up?”

“That one will work.” She whispers, tears building in her eyes.

If I was in a better state of mind, I would never speak to someone like that, but I can’t be bothered with it right now. Si wraps his arms around her, whispering something in her ear as I walk up the stairs. His door is unlocked, so I twist the knob and push it open, freezing in my tracks when I see the blonde girl he has tied to the bed.

“Hello, brother.” He says without taking his attention away from the knots he’s tying. “You remember Cali’s friend, right?”

“What the fuck is this, K?” I ask, every ounce of anger inside me dies as a genius idea pops into my head.

“I know what you’re here to do, just let me take care of this first.” He nods his head toward Jessa and finishes tying the last knot.

“I’m not going to kill you, that would be too easy.” I lean against the door frame, crossing my arms over my chest. “You keep her alive until I’m happy again. You can’t hurt her until another woman catches my attention.” I smile. “If you hurt her before then, you have to kill me.”

“So all is just forgiven?” The anger in his voice catches me off guard. He stands abruptly and faces me for the first time and my heart shatters at the sight of the claw marks on his neck. “I fucking killed her, Rune. You can’t let me walk away after that.”

“Answer one question for me.” Straightening myself, I close the distance between us. “Was she drunk?”

His head drops to his chest as he lets out a loud sigh. “Yes,” he replies, barely above a whisper. “If she wasn’t, she could’ve gotten away.” We’re interrupted by a loud shriek in the hallway. Karrion’s head snaps to the side as Marley steps closer to the room.

“Let her go, or I’m calling the police.” She demands in a shaky voice. “Right now.”

“You were told to go home.” Silas says as he comes up behind her.

“Did you know about this?” She questions while turning to face him. “Your brother being a monster?”

“You should choose your words more carefully, sweetheart.” Silas shoots her a sinister smile and wraps his hands around her throat, pushing her backward until she hits the wall. He squeezes her throat so tight, I half expect her head to pop off like a daisy. She thrashes wildly for a few seconds until he pulls her away from the wall and slams her head back against it, knocking her out.

“Don’t kill someone else to cover my ass!” Karrion shouts, tears running down his face. He runs toward Silas, grabbing his arm and trying to pry it away from Marley’s neck, but I wrap my arm around his neck and pull him to the ground. The air rushes out of my lungs when he lands directly on top of me.

“She left him no choice.” I growl, tightening my grip around his neck. He doesn’t try to fight me off at all and that really pisses me off. I release him, shoving him to the side before I sit up and lean against the wall. He rolls onto his back, staring blankly at the ceiling.

“I leave you guys alone for ten fucking minutes and come upstairs only to find one of my brothers killing his girlfriend and my other brother with an unconscious woman tied up on his bed.”

I burst out in laughter interrupting whatever else Alaric was about to say. All three of them snap their heads in my direction, staring at me with concerned faces. I stand, unable to stop the laughter and make my way to my room, slamming the door and locking it behind me. The moment the door closes, I’m slapped in the face with reality. Everywhere I look there’s something of Cali’s. My entire room smells like her. I’m overwhelmed with emotion as I look at everything, from the hair ties on the dresser, to her pink slippers outside the bathroom door. I take a few deep breaths before hopping in the shower, turning the water as cold as it can possibly go. I close my eyes and let the freezing water drip down my face. Pale blue eyes fill my vision, my chest tightens as the realization begins to sink in that I’ll never get to hold her again. I’ll never look into those gorgeous eyes again, never get to hear her infectious laugh again. My body goes numb as I slide down the wall of the shower until my ass hits the bottom. I tip my head so the spray hits me directly in the face, washing away my tears.

“Rune, what the fuck?” Alaric yells, stepping into the shower and turning the water up a little bit. “You’re fucking freezing, we have to get you warmed up.”

“W-w-w-what h-h-h-happened?” I stammer between shivers. I’ve never been so cold in my entire life. Judging by how purple my skin is, I must have fallen asleep or passed out under the cold water.

“Can you get your clothes off or do you need help?” He asks. “You’re supposed to take them off BEFORE you get in the shower.”

I pull my shirt over my head, embarrassed by how much I struggled with the simple task, but my fingers barely work. “No boxers.”

“I don’t care about your dick.” He says, adjusting the water again. It’s almost warm now and it’s making my skin tingle. “This might work better if we fill up the tub.” He plugs the drain and a few seconds later, the water begins rising. “You’ll have to sit here for a while to thaw out. Get your shorts off.”

“I can’t l-l-lift my ass.” Trying to stop my teeth from chattering, I cup some of the warm water in my hands, bringing them to my face. Terrible decision, my face instantly feels like someone is shoving thousands of tiny needles into every inch of it. Alaric steps over me and slides me to the back of the tub before yanking my shorts down my legs. He tosses them into the sink before turning the water up a little bit more.

“I’m going to see if we still have an electric heater in the garage. I’ll be back in two shakes.” He steps out of the shower, peeling his soaked clothes off and tossing them in the sink along with mine.

I slide down into the water, letting it slowly work its magic until Ric comes back. He smiles as he plugs the damn torpedo heater in. “It’s not electric, but you’ll be warm within a couple minutes.” I nod my head slightly, watching as he closes the lid to the toilet and sits down. “If you need anything at all, just ask. And I truly mean anything. A shoulder to cry on, an ear to vent to, or someone to help get rid of a body. I’ll always be here for you, brother.”

“What time is it?” I ask, hoping to change the subject. He stands and pokes his head out the door for a second.

“Almost one o’clock.” He says. “You have plenty of time.” He turns the water off completely before sitting back on the toilet.

“I feel much better already, you’re good to go, I’ll be out when I’m done.” Hopefully he’ll leave me alone for a while, I need to get my head on straight before I go to the funeral.

“I’ll be back in twenty minutes to check on you.” He stands to leave, but pauses for a second. Just when I think he’s going to sit back down, he sighs and leaves the bathroom.

As soon as I hear the bedroom door close, I pull myself from the bathtub and wrap myself in my robe. It was a Christmas gift from Cali that I haven’t used before. Something about it feels wrong, like I’m not supposed to be wearing it. The material feels like it’s suffocating me, so I rip it off and throw it across the room, knocking one of Cali’s paintings off the wall. Falling to my knees, I look up to the ceiling and pray to God, begging him to take the pain away. After a few minutes, something inside me snaps. If God doesn’t want to help me, I’ll make sure nobody ever has the power to hurt me again. Throwing clean clothes on, I walk downstairs and make it almost to the front door before Silas spots me.

“You can’t leave by yourself.” He puts his hands out, trying to stop me, but I walk around him and straight out the door.

“I’ll be at the funeral.” I call out over my shoulder as I hurry down the steps and jump in my Nova. I flip the visor down and smile when the keys fall into my lap. Sliding them into the ignition, I start the engine and pull out of the driveway. When I glance in the rearview mirror, I catch sight of Karrion standing in the window of his bedroom. That’s what hurts the most about this. K is an asshole, but he would never hurt me like this on purpose. Every time he’s explained to us what happens when his head gets fucked up, the details don’t change. He describes it as watching a movie on the tv, but he’s the main character. No amount of yelling or fighting changes the outcome.

Taking one last quick glance in the mirror, I peel out of the driveway and don’t stop until I’m in the parking lot of Oasis.